A Necessary Recourse
by caitizzles
Summary: It's senior year and Gabriella and Troy have everything they ever wanted. Things go wrong, anyway, but that's not always a bad thing. Troyella/Ryella.
1. Prologue

**NOTES:** This is going to be my very first novel length story. The plot I have in mind is a bit of a dramatic one, but I hope to be able to pull it off and entertain you all while doing so! This is merely the prologue, and I hope many of you find it intriguing.

* * *

It was the second week of his senior year when everything in Troy Bolton's life took a very dramatic turn. Troy was laying on the grass in the school's courtyard and basking in the warm breeze that was an incredibly welcome respite from the overbearing heat of New Mexico in August. He had just eaten an incredibly satisfying lunch which his mom had packed for him (she had been getting quite nostalgic lately, coming to the realization her baby boy would soon be moving away to college), Gabriella was behind him doing math problems but also occasionally giving Troy an affectionate kiss on his forehead or a quick rub on the head (those were his favorite), and it was Friday. Everything was Awesome. Capital 'A'.

"Hey, Troy?"

"Yeah, Gabs?"

"Want to come over tonight after basketball practice?" She had her hand in his hair and was ruffling it gently. It felt very nice.

"Sure thing. We'll probably finish up practice around five and then I'll clean up and come around seven?"

She leaned in and gave him a small peck on the lips and a huge, gorgeous smile as her reply. She then began explaining how she had to meet with Taylor to discuss the future of some science project they had started a week ago, which was about a month before anyone else would even come up with a topic.

Troy watched her go, then leaned back and shut his eyes, planning to enjoy the weather for the rest of his own lunch break and definitely to keep his mind far from schoolwork. He fell into a light but very peaceful sleep for the next fifteen minutes, still thinking that his senior year was going to be the best year of his life, yet. And maybe it was, but most certainly not in the way he had originally planned.


	2. Chapter 1

**NOTES:** So, finally, I present to you Chapter 1 of my first novel length story! I really would love feedback, what you think I've done right so far and what I haven't. Sorry this took so long, the semester is winding down and I've been kind of busy, but once May 15th passes I'm hoping to update several times a week.

* * *

Gabriella was slightly out of breath by the time she reached the Chemistry lab. She had spent a few moments too long with Troy and that meant she had to run halfway across the school to make sure she got to her meeting with Taylor and their teacher on time. Both were chatting amicably when she walked into the room.

"Sorry, Mrs. Cooley! I hope you still have the time to discuss our project with us."

"Oh, no worries at all Miss Montez, you aren't even a minute late, and Taylor helped me get familiar with the basics." Gabriella gave Taylor and grateful smile.

There meeting went exactly as the two girls had planned. Their teacher was just as excited as the Gabriella and Taylor had been when they had first thought of the idea and was willing to get them the proper permission to borrow the equipment and chemicals from the school in order to complete the project as thoroughly as possible. The project was a little beyond what a normal senior would take on, and it had the potential to go horribly wrong, but Mrs. Cooley had been really encouraging in letting the girls at least try.

As Taylor and Gabriella were packing up, Mrs. Cooley had moved behind her desk and started making marks in her grade book. Gabriella was just about walk out the door with a quick goodbye, not wanting to disturb her while she was working, when Mrs. Cooley called her over.

"Gabriella, if you have a coupe of minutes, I'd like to speak with you for a couple of minutes." Gabi had the instinctual reaction of a racing heart and a clench in her stomach from the image of a teacher with a grade book asking her to stay after. She'd heard about this kind of situation ending terribly, but it had never been her. She got herself under control, though, and was almost embarrassed that she could react so dramatically. Sometimes she felt she really needed to loosen up.

"Gabriella, I am so proud of you and Taylor. I handed in both of your letters of recommendation yesterday." Gabi and Taylor had each asked Mrs. Cooley to write one of the ir letter of recommendations for their college applications. She had been ecstatic to do.

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Cooley. I really appreciate it you doing it so quickly, I've been thinking about applying early to some schools. Everyone keeps saying it's easier to get in that way."

"Oh, Gabriella, I'm sure you have nothing to worry about, but it was no problem. It's very easy to write about students like you and Taylor. Taylor told me she was applying to John Hopkins, I'm sure she'll have no problem getting in."

"Yeah, she has wanted to go for so long! We talk about college all the time, I wish I was as sure as she was about next year."

"Actually, that is what I wanted to talk to you about. When I dropped off your letter this morning I noticed you were only applying to schools in New Mexico and California. While there were some great schools on the list, I was wondering if you had considered going to the east coast at all? I know it's far, and a bit old fashioned to just assume the schools out there are better, but I really think you could do well out there."

Gabi cringed inside. She hated when people asked why she hadn't applied to Harvard, or Princeton, or Cornell. She knew they were great schools, but they were so far from the only true friends she'd ever had. Her mom was most likely going to move once she graduated, just has they had tons of times in the past, so how would she ever be able to justify coming back to New Mexico if she went to school all the way on the east coast?

"I know, Mrs. Cooley. Academically, I think it would be great. But there are also great schools right here, and in California, which are a lot closer."

"Gabriella, I know it can be absolutely terrifying to go far away to school, but you can't let friendships you had in High School keep you from really living up to your potential. Real friendships can certainly survive the distance that comes along with going to college. Also, even in the end if you don't go, it doesn't hurt to apply. I just wanted to let you know I am one hundred percent behind you in getting the applications together. I'll do whatever I can to help you out, even if you just want to talk about some concerns you have."

"Thank you, Mrs Cooley." Gabi really was grateful. Mrs. Cooley had been one of the greatest teachers Gabi had ever had she was once again reassured of her teachers support.

"No problem, Gabriella. I'll see you on Monday. Have a lovely weekend."

x x x

Gabriella didn't realize her name was being called until she had stopped at her locker and began working on opening the lock. She had been too busy thinking about next year but when she looked up and saw Ryan running toward her, she completely forgot about all the troubling things that had been racing through her head only seconds ago.

"Hey, Ryan! It's been like a week since I last saw you. I heard you had the flu, or something? Are you feeling better?"

Ryan laughed and rolled his eyes. "I didn't have the flu. I didn't get hit by a car either. This school has a really wild imagination. I think my sister is behind half the rumors, anyway. She loves the attention." This made Gabriella laugh. Even though she had gotten a lot closer with Ryan, and she was only on friendly speaking terms with Sharpay, but her antics were usually amusing and always totally crazy. She usually resulted in a fairly hilarious anecdote from Ryan everyday.

"Actually, I was just visiting some schools. Did you know you got a week of excused absences for that?"

"I didn't, but that's definitely a relief. I feel like I have a lot of work to do in that department."

"Still confused then?" Ryan was one of the people Gabriella had confided in about her dilemma. He had also been thinking about going east, but had been much more excited about it. He definitely gave her a more positive perspective of what it might be like, and the opportunities that might be waiting for her there. She knew it was advice she wouldn't be able to get from Troy, who hadn't ever mentioned a single school outside the state of New Mexico.

"Unfortunately. I just spoke to Mrs. Cooley about it. She said she would help me get the applications together. I think I will at least give applying a shot. Then maybe the admissions boards can make the decision for me! If I don't get in the choice will get a lot simpler."

Ryan laughed. "Yeah, that's likely Gabi. There is probably going to be a bidding war over you!"

"Ugh, thanks, Ryan. I can't think about this anymore. I just want to go home and read for a couple of hours, or something. Definitely some story that took place like a thousand years ago, before things like applying to college even existed."

"I know what will take your mind off of it. Why don't you come to the mall with me tomorrow? I'm scouting for potential birthday presents for Sharpay. You and Troy are coming to the party next weekend, right?"

"Of course we're coming! I need to get Sharpay a present, also, so I'll definitely come along to the mall. Not incredibly surprising, but I've found she is very hard to shop for. Now I can use your expertise to find something she won't find overly offensive. Your present, on the other hand, was super easy to find." It truly had been. Gabi had been out with Taylor, just enjoying one of the last few days of summer. They were shopping but not looking for anything in particular when they walked into one of those stores that just had a bit of everything from everywhere. They had some really gorgeous yoga mats, and Gabi had picked one that looked like a sunrise for Ryan. She knew he'd love it. It was a bit silly, but she also knew she would make something for Ryan in addition to the present she had bought him. She had never really had any close friends before she came to East High, and it was more amazing than she could have ever imagined and she really wanted to show Ryan how much his friendship meant, so she was going to make something personal. She just wasn't sure just yet what that would be.

Ryan and Gabi spent a few more minutes chatting while they walked to the senior parking lot. Once they got there they separated, their cars being incredibly far off from one another. Gabi always got to school fairly early for various club meetings, so she always got a good spot. When Ryan drove to school without his sister he always had a terrible spot because they lived a bit further off than everyone else and he never terrified anyone into giving up their prime parking lot real estate, unlike Sharpay.

x x x

It was stupid, but Troy always felt a little uncomfortable hanging out with Gabi alone at her house. He always felt like embarrassment was lurking right around the corner. Like he was going to get in trouble or say something stupid. And really, to be totally honest, the latter was likely at any moment, and had happened more times than he could count.

But really the most troublesome thing for Troy was that he really didn't know what to do in order to fill the time with Gabi. When they were with a big group of friends it seemed so easy to pay attention to Gabi, who always had something interesting to say or some way to occupy him, and if it just so happened she didn't they could talk to others and think nothing of it. Bu when it was just them there were all these expectations for them to be wrapped up in one another for hours on end. If they just watched a movie he felt guilty that they weren't doing something more interactive together, but it's not like he could have deep, philosophical conversations with Gabi or even a heated argument about sports. Their interests just didn't align that way.

That did leave one option though. More often than not, these days whenever Troy was alone with Gabi, they were making out. Troy wished he found that totally awesome and fine, but he just didn't. He always felt like he was doing something wrong, though. He could never really get into it. This made him so angry though because Gabriella was the most perfect girl in the entire universe. She was smart and fun and absolutely beautiful and he should be into it. At the same time, though, because Gabi was all those things she deserved more than a guy who couldn't ever think of anything more original than sucking face to occupy their time together.

x x x

Ryan was so tired. He had been to the east coast and back, with some stops in between, in under a week. He just wanted to nap, but the moment he walked into his bedroom he knew that, with out a doubt, was no longer an option.

"Ryan! Thank god you're here! Where were you? It's almost five! Did you stay after? Why would you stay after? You don't have any clubs that meet on Friday." All this noise was coming from Ryan's closet. Thankfully his closet hadn't gone and become self aware and spent the week he was gone working on being sassy, it was just Sharpay.

"You better not be making a mess in there. I was talking to my teachers to find out what work I missed, so I can make it up over the weekend instead of getting bombarded on Monday."

"Ugh, Ryan. You suck up. I'm sure if you pretended that you were tragically ill for a week you wouldn't have to make it up at all. That's what I did when I visited schools. I even laid the preliminary groundwork for your illness."

"I heard. Anyway, that's what you did and then you spent the next three weeks failing tests and having to beg to retake them because you didn't have any idea what was going on in any of your classes and you ended up having to work twice as hard in half the time." Ryan then heard Sharpay emit some noise of exasperation, but more concerning, he thought he heard some shoe boxes topple over. "Sharpay! What are you doing in there?"

"Nothing, nothing, nothing." She said as she emerged from his closet, empty handed. "Don't worry about it. I was looking for a certain pair of jeans that have gone missing. I'm still not entirely convinced you don't have them, but for now you're in the clear." Ryan knew what pants she was talking about. He'd planned on putting them back in her closet this morning as they didn't really fit him, anyway. Well, he could zip them and everything but he looked kind of obscene. Now he'd have to stay up late tonight so he could at some point sneak them back into her room before any more of his belongings were damaged.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sharpay. They are probably just lost in the abyss of your closet, along with everything else you have accused me of stealing the past 18 years of our lives."

"We aren't 18 yet! Not until next Saturday, so I've only been accusing you for 17 years and 358 days. I'll need the jeans back by our party. There will be no retribution if I find them clean and folded in my bedroom by tomorrow morning."

After Sharpay had left his room, he moved to his closet to survey the damage. He sighed heavily and began matching shoes, his nap now postponed for at least a few hours.


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes:** So, this chapter came a lot faster than expected! Not to sound desperate, but...ok, well I am desperate so I might as well sound it -- Please, please, please leave feedback! It makes me so much more excited to write, and it always magically makes me have crazy good ideas. Feedback induces a creativity high! I crave it!

* * *

"Gabriella! The door! Answer it now, please!"

"Sorry, mom, I'm on my way down!" Gabriella was completely aggravated. She had come home from school not in the greatest of moods and then had spent a solid two hours researching college options, only to become that more depressed when she fell in love with yet another campus that was 3000 miles away. Her mom also appeared to be in a foul mood, as she had a rather important date tonight and kept insisting nothing in her closet fit her. She'd already barged into Gabi's room three times to ask her opinion, and all three times Gabi had been totally honest and told her mom she looked gorgeous, only to have her leave grumbling in disagreement.

The most upsetting part of her evening was that, a month ago, Gabi would have opened the door and at the sight of Troy Bolton, everything a girl could ever dream of and more, all of her other problems would have completely melted away. Now, however, the whole college dilemma had a whole lot to do with the boy standing in front of her, and seeing his blue eyes and cute smile only made it ten times harder to think about ever being anywhere but five minutes away from him at any time.

"Troy! Come in! You can go into the den for a bit and watch TV. I just have to help my mom finish getting ready." She got up on her toes and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. She was tempted to prolong it, but then remembered it was more important to get her mom out of the house, as soon as possible.

Troy also seemed eager to make her stay, so she gave him another small kiss and a quick apology and then ran up the stairs, fully prepared to super glue whatever her mom was wearing at the moment to her body and push her out the door.

x x x

Gabriella practically fell onto the couch when she returned to the den, and gave a huge dramatic sigh.

"That was unnecessarily difficult. She was so nervous tonight! I hope that means she likes him."

Troy looked away from the TV and gave her a smile. "I bet it does." He then turned his attention back to the television screen, which was currently playing a rerun of some hip hop dance competition. It really wasn't Gabi's thing but Troy seemed into it, and it was probably on for only another fifteen minutes, so she decided she would try her hardest to enjoy it.

x x x

Gabi really hated MTV. In her opinion, their programming could do with some more variety. She would gladly admit that the dance crews, or whatever they were called, were really talented. It was something she would never be able to do and she admired the hard work each member had put in, but that didn't mean she wanted to watch three episodes of the same show in row. Troy, however, seemed entranced and it was now getting on Gabi's nerves. They had spent over two hours sitting on the couch, with only the barest of conversation at commercial breaks. And that was mostly just to ask Troy if he wanted to something to eat or drink. She might be hundreds, or even thousands, of miles away in a few months and her boyfriend just wanted to watch TV with her. It was depressing.

"Troy, is something wrong?" She had tried not to, but there was more than a little bit of frustration evident in her voice.

When Troy turned to look at her, Gabi regretted asking almost immediately. Troy looked genuinely confused at her sudden outburst.

"Um, no, Gabi, nothing is wrong. Why would you think that? Do you think there is something wrong?"

For a second Gabi wanted to say that she did feel there was something wrong. She wanted to try and talk to Troy about the little nagging in the back of her head that she felt at times like this when it seemed that her and Troy never had anything to talk about, but a part she was much more familiar with absolutely would not allow it.

"No, no, I just don't want to watch TV anymore. Let's go up to my room."

Troy raised his eyebrows and then Gabi wanted to just cry for a second. She couldn't believe that she was using fooling around upstairs as a last resort with the guy she was supposed to love. Of course she'd want to do that sometimes, but she never imagined it would be out of boredom and the fact that it was out of boredom made her kind of hate herself. She had always pictured her and Troy doing lots of fun and interesting stuff together, yet it never seemed to be happening. Instead it seemed he spent a third of his time hurting her feelings by ditching her for bigger and better things, another third planning overly romantic gestures to win her back, and the last third being completely boring.

As that last thought ran through her head she felt Troy step behind her and then wrap his arms around her, causing her to blush with both a bit of shame, because she immediately felt guilty about the terrible things she had been thinking a moment ago, but also pleasure, because Troy felt so warm and strong. She remembered that afternoon, sitting in the sunny courtyard, quiet but content. Troy wasn't boring -- he and Gabi were just comfortable together. She knew he loved her. Yes, he had made mistakes in the past, but he had always proven he loved her in the end.

She turned in his arms and reached up to give him a kiss. This was their first real kiss in a few days and Gabi was quick and eager to make it a passionate one. She wrapped her arms delicately around his shoulders and in return he moved his hands into her hair, which she loved more than anything. Finally, after a few minutes she pulled back. She couldn't resist one final small peck, though, so she leaned in once more, but then afterwards quickly moved to grab his hand and lead him upstairs.

x x x

"Can you come with me to get my hair cut tomorrow? When you aren't there I always make incredibly irrational decisions regarding my bangs and what shade of blonde is seasonally appropriate." Sharpay and Ryan were on their way to pick up dinner from a local Chinese place, since their parents were both going to be working late and their cook had the weekend off.

"It's true, you do make really terrible hair decisions in my absence, but, unfortunately, I already have plans. We'll have to decide tonight and I'll write them down for you. If your smart you'll hand over the piece of paper without another word and let Lorenzo work his magic." Sharpay looked livid, But Ryan was elated. He couldn't recall a single time in his life when he was unavailable to be Sharpay's lackey, unless it was her choice for it to be that way. It was quite a liberating feeling, even if Sharpay was, at the moment, turning purple. "Don't be mad, Sharpay. You want me to have my own friends, remember?"

They had had a long discussion about it after the whole talent show debacle. Sharpay and Ryan really did care for one another and hated fighting. Ryan was the one person Sharpay could always count on, and she was finally starting to see that the only way for that to continue was to give Ryan a bit of a life of his own. Since then she had been fully supportive of his befriending of Wildcats, and even had tried out a few for herself (with varying degrees of success).

"Ugh! Ryan. Fine. You just can't forget to go over it with me tonight! I can't make the same mistakes I made in 10th grade. I was so brassy. I cringe just thinking of it."

"Don't worry. I definitely don't want to see you make those mistakes, either." Ryan really meant that. Much to Sharpay's chagrin, Ryan was a bit more naturally blonde than his sister, which meant she was on a never-ending quest to get a better shade, and sometimes it went very terribly wrong.

They sat in silence for a few minutes and listened to the radio when Sharpay once again turned down the volume to speak.

"So, what are your plans for tomorrow?"

"Going shopping with Gabi. Taylor might come along." He held his breath waiting for an overly dramatic reaction from Sharpay. Gabi was one of the people Sharpay had tried to be friends with for Ryan's sake, and, sadly, it was one of the attempts that had gone very poorly. They were both polite, Gabriella more so than his sister, but there just wasn't very much willingness to become anything more than acquaintances from either end. Ryan had appreciated the effort, though.

"Cool. You better be looking for a present for me. I know you haven't gotten me one, yet. I checked all over your room." Ryan smiled. His sister was awesome.

x x x

Troy was feeling really good, at the moment. He also felt like he could throw up a little bit, but he was okay with that. He had his suspicions it might be at least somewhat normal. He was just a bit overwhelmed, that's all. He and Gabi had finally gone all the way. A part of him couldn't even believe it. Gabriella was the girl who had required months of patience before he was even able to get a kiss. Not that she had prevented the kissing from happening, everything else in his life had. Her decision or not, it had helped him develop a pretty pristine image of her in his head. But none of that had been removed this evening. She had been sweet and responsive and perfect, and really it was everything he had ever imagined.

He was sad he couldn't have stayed with Gabi for longer, but after a few quiet moments of them laying together she reminded him that her mom would be home soon and that it would be probably be best if he was gone before that. The thought of running into her mom in this state was more than enough to encourage him to get dressed as quickly as possible. Before he could even gather too many thoughts together he was parked in his own drive way.

As soon as he was there he immediately regretted leaving without making any plans for the next day. Well, no one could fault him for not thinking clearly, he thought. Still, he grabbed his cell phone and dialed Gabriella's cell phone number.

"Hey." She still sounded happy and Troy felt relieved, not even realizing he had been a bit anxious before she had picked up.

"Hey, I was just wondering if you wanted to do something tomorrow. Maybe see a movie?" He figured it would be gentlemanly to suggest they go out. It was probably a jerk move to suggest they hang out at her house again and imply a repeat of the events that went down not less than an hour ago.

"Oh, I can't. I'm going to the mall with Ryan." She sounded sorry but Troy was a little bit peeved. "I'm sure you can come, though. I'd cancel but I really do have to go to the mall to get a present for Sharpay. You do, too, don't you?"

"I was just going to give money." He was trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice, but it was proving to be extremely difficult. He suddenly had the urge to just hang up and end this embarrassing conversation. His own girlfriend didn't want to see him after they had had sex for the first time. That was messed up.

"Troy, I'm sorry. But you can come along, even if you don't want to shop. Just come to spend time with me. I'd really like that."

Troy wasn't really completely satisfied with this arrangement, but he felt there was no point in upsetting Gabi.

"'Kay. Night, Gabi. See you tomorrow."


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes:** Yeah, this was a long time coming. Hopefully chapters will now be once a week because I just quit my job :):):). Please review, it makes me so happy!

Gabi woke up on Saturday morning feeling really happy. Gabriella had always told herself to be realistic about things, with the result that she had always expected her first time would be absolutely miserable. She figured she would not know what to do half the time and that it would hurt and she would feel shy and embarrassed. Unsurprisingly, she had been right about all those things, but what she hadn't expected was for all that to not really be such a big deal, after all.

Not to mention, Troy had been so incredibly sweet. Even if everything else had been terrible (which it hadn't) Gabi would have been completely satisfied just by the way he had looked into her eyes and smiled just before saying he loved her.

Gabi was even able to rationalize their slightly tense phone call that had occurred afterward. Troy only wanted to spend time with Gabi and he was frustrated by something getting in the way of that. It made Gabi laugh to recall her earlier doubts about Troy's true feelings for her, when something like a phone call made it so clear that he wanted to be with her as much as he possibly could.

She went down to breakfast that morning completely elated. At first she was worried her mom would notice something was up (her mom always loved to get every detail after she had a date with Troy), but she was pleasantly surprised to go downstairs to find her mom in an exceptionally joyful mood of her own.

"Hi, Mommy," she said as she entered the kitchen, and sat down to a heaping pile of blueberry pancakes.

"Good m orning, sweetie," she said as she brought over some orange juice and sat down at the table in front of her own plate of pancakes. Pancakes of a variety of flavors were a staple of the Montez breakfast table on Saturday mornings. "You're up late this morning."

It was true. Gabriella was definitely a morning person. It was rare for her to get up any later than nine in the morning, and it was currently nearing ten. Though she had woken up at around 8:30, she had spent a good part of the morning thinking about the previous night.

"Yeah, it was a busy week with our Science project. I had some late nights, I guess I needed to catch up."

Ms. Montez beamed at her daughter. "You work so hard, I'm sure you deserved every moment."

Gabi felt a little guilty about the white lie, but even though she was close with her mom she wasn't ready to share what had happened the night before. She was a terrible liar, however, having very little experience in it, so she changed the subject as soon as possible.

"So, how was your date last night?" This change of topic wasn't entirely in vain either. Her mom had seemed so excited last night and very happy this morning, so Gabi was curious how everything had went.

Sure enough, it had went very well and Ms. Montez seemed quite content to go over the night with her daughter, and Gabriella was extremely pleased to hear her mom recount an evening with such enthusiasm. They spent almost all of breakfast talking about the date, with only a brief respite to go over some details of Gabi's project, and no mention of Gabi's evening with Troy was ever made.

x x x

Troy was going to weep with relief. The food court was in sight. Only a couple of more feet and he would be well on his way to stuffing an enormous hamburger with every topping imaginable down his throat. He was pretty sure he was drooling, but at this point he no longer cared. He, Gabriella, Taylor and Ryan had been shopping for the past three hours, which was approximately two hours and forty minutes past his limit. Whenever he needed to get anything other than sports equipment his mom went for him and that didn't embarrass Troy at all. He _hated _shopping.

This excursion had been particularly grueling. Ryan would suggest countless things for Gabriella to buy for Sharpay but he was always met with a drawn out and hesitant 'maybe' or 'I'm not sure, let's keep looking.' Ryan was always agreeable and enthusiastic, but Troy was about ready to leave. He felt terrible about it, but he was so frustrated with Gabriella and her entirely unnecessary worry over the stupid present that suddenly everything she did seemed to bother him. He found himself gritting his teeth when she addressed him and avoiding conversation that extended beyond one-word responses on his part.

However, just before he did something he would probably regret he was presented with a shining beacon of hope. Food.

It was Ryan who had suggested it and Troy immediately agreed wholeheartedly. Gabi seemed reluctant as she needed to be home in an hour and she hadn't yet decided to buy anything but then Ryan was right there reassuring her that they'd be able to go over the 'maybe' stuff over lunch and form a strategy. Gabriella loved a good strategy so she agreed to stop and eat. Troy mentally rejoiced and also felt a surge of respect for Ryan's masterful skills of manipulation. He definitely was related to Sharpay.

Troy was silently enjoying the best burger he had ever tasted while the other three endlessly rehashed everywhere they'd been the last few hours when his cell phone rang. It was Chad.

"Hey, man."

"Hey, how's shopping?"

"Still haven't found anything." Troy hoped he sounded sufficiently miserable so Chad could understand the torture he was going through at the moment.

Chad laughed. "Ouch, sounds rough." He hardly sounded sympathetic. "I have something that might cheer you up. We're trying to put together a baseball game for this evening. You interested?"

Troy's mood skyrocketed. He loved winnings thing, and this sounded like a perfect opportunity to do just that. "Hell yeah. Just tell me when and where."

"The fields right off of Wick's at eight. Jason has a hook and he's getting the lights turned on."

"Nice!" Troy loved playing under the lights. There was something so dramatic about it and it made his adrenaline pump. He was always at his best under the lights and really needed to be tonight. He hadn't played with the guys once over the entire summer and he needed to prove he still deserved his spot. "You think you'll be able to get enough guys together?"

"Oh, yeah, not a problem." Chad sounded confident. It could be hard to get 18 guys together at a moment's notice but Troy needed this game to happen tonight to make up for the complete waste the daylight hours had been, so he hoped Chad's confidence was sincere.

Just as he was about to end the call with a goodbye that was infinitely more cheerful than his hello, Chad interrupted him.

"Oh, you're with Ryan right now, right?"

"Um, yeah?" Troy was confused.

"Make sure he knows the details, too." Then Troy remembered. It had been mentioned to him once or twice before that Ryan was the one who usually took his place when he hadn't been able to make it to staff games at Lava Springs. Apparently, he was very good.

Troy hung up with Chad and, for the first time since sitting down to eat, he was the one to start up conversation.

"So, Ryan, it looks like I'm finally going to get to see the awe inspiring sight that is you throwing a baseball. I hope you can live up to you reputation."

Ryan gave him a huge smile. "Game tonight?"

"Yep, Wick's at eight." Troy returned his smile, feeling even more excited than just moments before. Tonight was going to be a good competition.

Gabriella and Taylor also seemed eager at the prospect of the game. "We should make it a barbecue! Those were so much fun over the summer."

Troy felt a small pang of regret at Gabi remembering something that definitely hadn't included him so fondly. He knew it made him like a possessive ogre with the emotions of a caveman, but part of him wished that she had been miserable and pining during the times he hadn't been around, instead of having some of the best times of her summer.

She turned and addressed Troy directly. "You have to see Ryan play, Troy. We were all so amazed." She then turned her attention to Ryan and gave him a brilliant and sincere smile that made Ryan blush and Troy's jaw clench.

Troy knew it wasn't intentional. His girlfriend was sweet and one hundred percent kind hearted. He knew she really was just proud that her friend was so talented. Gabi loved Troy, and she had shown him that time and again. He felt guilty about being angry, especially after what happened last night, but he also hated that she was so friendly toward Ryan all the time. Ryan was a big part of Gabi's happiness over the past summer, a time when Troy had made himself scarce, and seeing his girlfriend smile so beautifully at someone other than himself made him feel like an idiot.

He wasn't going to let that ruin what was looking to be a great night, however. There was a whole year to wash away the mistakes Troy had made, and to make new, even happier, memories with his girlfriend and he was going to start tonight.

x x x

Chad had just lost at an athletic event (which was normally absolutely out of the question in his book), but he was having one of the best nights of his life. He was surrounded by friends and there was amazing food and great music and he hadn't even been bit by a single bug yet.

"I can't believe how well Ryan played today." This was at least the fourteenth time Tory had said this to Chad. And every time it was with the same amount of disbelief and amazement as the last.

"Yep. I know, a no hitter." Ryan was truly talented when it came to baseball, but the level he had played at tonight's game had surprised even Chad. Only three walks had prevented Ryan from being able to boast of having a perfect game his under his belt, but those three walks didn't stop a single person from being seriously impressed.

"It's just –" Troy looked hesitant to continue, but Chad gave him a look to encourage him to go on and say what was on his mind.

"It's just I was shopping with the kid _all_ day. And, I don't know…I was just thinking maybe sports weren't really his thing." Chad was glad that Troy looked at least a little embarrassed by what he was saying.

"Come on, Troy. He can like to do both." Chad now hoped they would move onto talking about something else. He had a feeling they were getting dangerously close to discussing something Ryan had told Chad in confidence, and he didn't want to come to the problematic situation of lying to his best friend since the kindergarten.

"So do you think he's gay?" Chad groaned out loud and gave Troy a hard stare that he hoped got across the idea hat Chad was absolutely not going to answer his question.

Troy was once again looking embarrassed and hesitant "Well, not that it's a big deal or anything like that. It's just he and Gabi are really close now. They spend a lot of time together and he's rich and he's good at sports and all that theater stuff. I was kind of hoping he was, actually." Chad thought Troy was finished and he was about to respond with a sufficiently vague answer as to not compromise either of his friendships when Troy added, "I'm not going to try to beat him up or anything."

That made Chad laugh. His friend could be such a moron sometimes.

"Dude, no worries about Gabriella. Her and Ryan are just friends."

"Because he is gay?"

Chad decided to respond by lightly punching his friend in the arm instead of dignifying his question with a verbal reply.

x x x

Ryan usually despised Sundays. He always saved up all his homework for the very last moment, which had the unfortunate result of him spending the finals hours of his weekend trapped at his desk working on his assignments.

Luckily, it was still early in the year and there wasn't a single assignment that couldn't be put off for at least a few more days. Ryan knew this opportunity could absolutely not be wasted, so he woke up early and gave Gabriella a call so they could make plans, knowing she would be awake.

"Hiya, Ryan," she greeted cheerfully. Ryan laughed. It never failed to amaze him how happy Gabriella always managed to sound.

"Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to do something today. Nothing too major, maybe we could walk to that really cute ice cream shop, though I'm pretty sure it's really crowded on Sundays with the 10 and under crowd." He knew it would be a madhouse. On Sundays, the quaint little shop always had entertainment for kids like a puppet show or a magician so it was always bursting with young families and their screaming toddlers. They made amazing smoothies, however, and Ryan had been craving one for at least a week.

Gabi wasn't at all deterred by the prospect of hanging around a bunch of wild, sugar high children and so within the hour they found themselves at the most secluded bench they could locate.

They chatted about a bunch of different things, and continued to do so long after they finished their ice cream. Neither of them had any trouble finding common ground, and even when their interests didn't exactly align they found themselves chatting amiably, anyway. Ryan loved hearing the reader's digest versions of fascinating inventions Gabriella had read about, or her thoughts on politics and what was going on in the economy. In turn, she had tons of questions of what play she should try to see next. She was new to theater, and of course ready to absorb every single aspect of it, and Ryan was more than excited to help her discover it all. After running through a list of his favorite musicals of the past five years, Ryan finally looked down at his watch when he noticed the crowd was starting to thin out and was startled to see that several hours had passed.

"I can't believe we just spent three hours sitting on a bench just talking!" Gabriella exclaimed. Then she bit her lip and looked slightly embarrassed about something.

"You know, I guess it's what friends do with one another. I've never really had close friends until I came to East High. Now I find myself doing this type of thing all the time, and it's completely new to me!" She continued to look embarrassed but Ryan gave her a big smile and pulled her in for a hug.

She laughed in his arms. "I mean, just last weekend Taylor invited me to go visit schools with her and I realized I'd never even been invited to a sleepover before. I never thought I'd be as close with people as I am right now. It's really been the best year of my life."

She looked a bit sheepish, but Ryan felt entirely empathetic. Recently, he himself had found friends that he could really call his own, and he had never felt more comfortable with himself. He retightened his hold on Gabriella, causing her to giggle once more, and replied "I know exactly what you mean."


End file.
